Teachers’ YouTube vid is a hit

Charles Graham

MOVE over Mark Ronson because teaching staff at a Wigan borough school have become an overnight viral video smash.

As part of Leigh Bedford High’s end-of-year celebrations, the teachers decided to give the students a real treat with their own take on the hit single Uptown Funk.

Secretly filmed between lessons and after school hours, the video features staff from across the school community, with a special starring role for headteacher Helen Phillips.

And within hours of the finished article being posted on the school’s YouTube site, it had notched up a staggering 11,000 views.

Mrs Phillips said: “The video is our way of saying thank you to our Year 11 students who have worked hard all year.

“They have just finished their exams and are expected to get some excellent results this summer. It also shows that we’re not afraid to have a laugh with our students, at our expense!”

“We premiered the video during a Leavers’ Assembly and the response from the students was fantastic.”

“We have also promoted the video through the school’s Facebook page and it’s really taken off. We’ve been bowled over by the response and now we’re up to more than 12,000 views on and rising.”

Bedford High is no stranger to the media spotlight, as a Specialist Business and Enterprise College it encourages students to make the most of digital technology.

The school’s Enterprising Media Team regularly produces video news bulletins all about life at Bedford and the school has strong links with Salford’s Media City.

Mrs Phillips added: “As a school we have just launched a new social media campaign called Bedford Live, which features on both Facebook and YouTube. It’s a great way to get our young people switched on to digital media and it’s creating a real buzz around school.

“We’re encouraging everyone to subscribe to our new social media pages to find out more about what’s going on at school and our video is a great way of launching the campaign.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has watched our video so far and we’d like to congratulate all our Year 11 students for their hard work throughout the year. We wish them all the best as they leave school and go on to their next adventure.”

And while the new Bedford video may be hot enough to make a dragon want to retire, the cast and crew already have their sights set on their next smash hit musical video production. Taylor Swift, you have been warned!